In lighting systems, technologies are being researched by which to achieve energy conservation through identifying locations wherein individuals are present from temperature distributions within a space, to turn ON lighting in the vicinities thereof and to turn OFF lighting in areas wherein no individuals are present. Moreover, in air-conditioning systems there is research into technologies for using distributed thermohydraulic analysis techniques to estimate, from temperature distributions within a space and from target temperatures at locations within that space, air vent speeds and air vent temperatures for the individual air vents within the space. In this way, in control systems for controlling a space, temperature distribution detecting devices are used when detecting temperature distributions within the space.
Conventionally, in such temperature distribution detecting devices thermopile array is have been used as sensors for no-contact two-dimensional detection of the temperature distribution of a target object. See, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2004-170375. A thermopile array is an arrangement, in the form of an array on a semiconductor substrate, for example, of detecting elements made from thermal infrared sensors, specifically, thermopiles, for producing a thermal electromotive force in accordance with the amount of incident energy when incident infrared radiation is received from a target object. The thermopile array sensor enables simultaneous detection of a temperature distribution over a broad range, such as a space.
In this conventional technology, when installing thermopile array sensors within a space, the thermopile array sensors are disposed with equal spacing on an interior surface that forms the space, such as a ceiling, a wall, a floor, or the like, so that the detecting ranges of adjacent thermopile array sensors partially overlap each other so as to detect the temperature distribution within the space without gaps. If here, on the surface of the interior wall of the space equipment is installed, such as lighting equipment, air-conditioning equipment, fire prevention equipment, electrical equipment, or the like, and this equipment is installed at a location wherein a thermopile array sensor was planned to be installed, then the thermopile array sensor is installed near this equipment, and the detecting range of the thermopile array sensor is angled so as to partially overlap the detecting range of the adjacent thermopile array sensor as if it was installed in the location wherein it was planned.
However, with the conventional technology it is not possible to confirm whether or not the angled detecting range partially overlaps the detecting range of the adjacent thermopile array sensor, and thus if there is no partial overlap with the detecting range of the adjacent thermopile array sensor, there is a problem in that it will not be possible to detect the temperature distribution within the space without gaps. The present invention is to solve such a problem, and an aspect thereof is to provide a temperature distribution detecting technology wherein it is easy to confirm a partial overlap of detecting ranges for adjacent thermopile array sensors.